Grants worth a combined total of more than $278,000 will be provided to two Perth local governments to help reduce homelessness.
The City of Fremantle will receive a grant of $96,934 and the City of Stirling will receive $181,484 under the Local Government Partnership Fund for Homelessness.
The funding will help both local governments provide local responses to homelessness in their communities.
The City of Fremantle will use the funding to appoint a Crisis Intervention Outreach Officer. This will provide outreach and mental health intervention for people with complex health issues that are experiencing chronic homelessness and rough sleeping. It will link them with a direct pathway to appropriate housing and/or accommodation support services.
The City of Stirling will utilise their funding as part of the Stirling Homelessness Support project, which aims to increase access to outreach services for people who are experiencing homelessness in the City of Stirling. This will be achieved through a partnership between the City of Stirling and Uniting WA to deliver individualised, street-based support to people experiencing rough sleeping in the Stirling local government area.
Both local governments will provide co-funding towards the initiatives.
As stated by Homelessness Minister John Carey:
“I congratulate the City of Fremantle and the City of Stirling for their carefully considered applications for the grant funding, and showing important leadership.
“Local governments have crucial local knowledge, play a key role in local planning decisions, and are well placed to facilitate partnerships and coordinate appropriate responses to homelessness in their communities.
“We are currently looking at how we can reform and better integrate homelessness services and supports in Western Australia, which will include an assessment of this grants program.
“We are currently undertaking an overarching review of how we invest in homelessness services in Western Australia, and this will include an assessment about the future of the Local Government Partnership Fund for Homelessness.”
